


we are the no-ones to be cast aside

by Madamn_Fiction



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Bad Verse, Cetra!Cloud, Cloud Strife is Reborn as Aera's Twin Brother, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:13:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27706751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madamn_Fiction/pseuds/Madamn_Fiction
Summary: “You look like shit, Ardyn,” he said mercilessly, his brow furrowing with concern, “You alright?”Ardyn gave himself a moment to just admire the loveliest of views and relish in the feeling of this moment.“With you looking at me like that? You could say that now, I am.”
Relationships: Ardyn Izunia/Cloud Strife
Kudos: 43





	we are the no-ones to be cast aside

**Author's Note:**

> Cloud reincarnates as Aera’s twin brother and manifests Cetra abilities. His past memories are locked and Eos makes him have ominous visions whenever he comes across Somnus and Ardyn. 
> 
> His power was awakened when Bahamut was to choose a twin to become Oracle, when it was Cloud's turn Bahamut rejected him because he knew what he was. After that, the crying voice of Eos became more prominent, he rejected the will of the Astrals (was labeled a Heretic for this), and voluntarily exiled himself to find another way to purge the Starscourge. (Try to cast Great Gospel)
> 
> I wrote this based on the Aera/Ardyn memory/vision interactions from Ep.Ardyn.

“You’re the last person I’d think of who’d come here.”

“You wound me, you know that an ‘ _I missed you_ ’ would be more generous than your harsh words.”

The other man snorted as he rose from the ground, cleaned (as best as he could) his soil-covered hands on his white chiton, to then rest them on his hips, assessing Ardyn with a careful eye.

“You look like shit, Ardyn,” he said mercilessly, his brow furrowing with concern, “You alright?”

Ardyn gave himself a moment to just admire the loveliest of views and relish in the feeling of this moment.

An ancient wooden altar with the carving of a woman in silent prayer. At her feet, a bed of white and golden lilies. And at its center, shrouded in sunlight as if he were an Astral; Nebula Mirus Fleuret looking at him, bare hearted, with his beautiful sky blue eyes.

“With you looking at me like that? You could say that now, I am.”

Nebula groaned as he rolled his eyes, and Ardyn’s heart soared when he spied a blush cover his cheeks.

“If you came all this way to waste my time with your crap, the exit is right behind you,” he said, flustered, as he turned his back to Ardyn to wash his hands at the stone basin beneath the statue.  
  
Ardyn just laughed as he made his way to one of the stalls that lined towards the center of the altar, his eyes never leaving the exiled prince.

“And leave you alone, after all I went through to not get caught? I’m not as cruel as you paint me to be, my dear friend. Why, you should be praising my skill and bravery of making it safe and sound to your beautiful sanctuary!”  
  
The blond man chuckled, but his tone did not sit well with Ardyn.

“You would think yourself clever and charming if you believed you could get away with that,” he said as his body shriveled towards the basin, “but you can’t fool me you know...” he muttered as his hands gripped the edges of the basin.

Ardyn sighed tiredly, “Neb—”

“You’re _tainted_ Ardyn,” he said grimly as he turned around, “you can—”

And then, Ardyn saw his eyes become distant, looking at something far beyond him, as the sky blue blended to a pale green. The anger in his face morphed into a haunted expression, and Ardyn rose to his feet and made his hasted way toward his entranced friend.

“ _Nebula_ ,” he called, as he gently held his face, “Nebula look at me. ”

Nebula’s pupils became slit, and they looked at him in a dead cold unseeing stare. Then, he felt his hands over his’, and with an iron grip, warmth spread over Ardyn’s body, and the aching that was ailing him the last couple of weeks ceased.

When his friend came back to himself, and to what he was saying before his episode, he was crying.

“—n’t keep doing this to yourself, _asshole_!”

Despite being quite a... _peppy_ man, and having such a _lovely_ and colorful way with words, anger never suited Nabula’s face, and being the target of said anger made him feel like a reprimanded child who was caught doing something naughty.

Realization colors Nebula’s face when he notices how close Ardyn was, “What, did I—?”

“You needn’t worry yourself over me,” he calmly said, as he wiped away the tears from his now confused friend, “the gods blessed me with this power and purpose, to cure people of what ails them, I must see their will be done. ”

The exiled prince’s eyes hardened with irritation, his confusion all but forgotten as Ardyn’s words sank, with a low growl he moved his face away from Ardyn’s touch. “That stupid faith you and my sister have over the Astrals will bite you in the ass one of these days.”

 _‘And I won’t be able to do anything about it, anymore.'_ remained unsaid, but was clear and loud enough by the way Nebula looked at him.

And _that_ look made Ardyn’s heart ache.

“Whatever it is you think you’re doing, it’s _not right_ , and as much as I want to... I can’t watch over your every step and be there with you,” he said as he rested his head on his neck and wrapped his arms around Ardyn, “please, _stop_ , I... I won’t be able to heal you and hold back the Scourge from reaching your heart for much longer.”

Ardyn hugged him back, beneath the praying statue of an unknown lady, in a beautiful sanctuary that felt as if he stepped into another world, where there was nothing to worry about and people didn’t suffer because of the Star Scourge. Where he and Nebula were nothing more than two insignificant men who could have a chance of a future together, without any titles, duties, or beliefs to hold them back from what they truly felt.

“Don’t hold their word as if it were the only truth,” Ardyn heard him say, as his warm breath tickled his neck, “don’t listen to them, there is another way, **I know it** , and I’m close Ardyn, **_I’m so close_**.”

Close to what? Ardyn didn’t know, but he wanted to believe him, but something in him just... felt that whatever Nebula tried to achieve... it was impossible.

* * *

Ardyn lays in the endless black, hands touching the nothingness that is the ground, heart aching, mind devoid of reason.

Then, there are steps, and lilies grow near his hands, his breath catches in his throat, and he looks up.

Nebula Mirus Fleuret is looking at him, defeated, with tears rolling down his haunted eyes.

“ _You didn’t listen to me_ ,” he says accusingly, “I couldn’t save you, nor my sister, because neither of you believed me,” a painful sob leaves his lips, and what remains of Ardyn’s heart breaks in that moment.

“ _Nebula_ ,” he says his name in realization, like a plea, a silent prayer, he looks up, “Nebula my lo—”

“ **Didn’t I tell you?!** That it would come to bite you both in the ass? That what you were doing was _wrong_?!” he screamed as he held his head in defeat, “You both got played straight into their hands because of your **stupid blind devotion** , and...” a shudder, and the flowers begin to die around them, “ _and I couldn’t save you_ ,” he whispers brokenly, “the Planet will continue to suffer because I couldn’t save you.”

The prince then falls on his knees, his trembling hands uniting in a broken prayer as his tears keep falling down his cheeks.

“Was I really that pathetic, for my words to never reach you?” he asks Ardyn, “Was my so-called _heresy_ so abhorrent to you that you decided to ignore my pleas?”

Ardyn wants to move, to wipe away his tears, to tell him that he was never pathetic, that Ardyn never thought so low of him. That he was an idiot for doubting him.

_“Was I foolish enough to believe that you felt something for me?”_

Those last words sting, they burn him, and his heart is no more when a familiar blade pierces Nebula through his heart, his face full of sadness, wet from his tears of defeat.

Blood trails down from his mouth and his body disappears in wisps and strands of green that flow to the ground, leaving nothing but dead lilies in his wake, and Ardyn’s broken cry of despair.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm aware of "Nebula" being a female noun, but I wanted to latinize Cloud's name and actually came up with an excuse for it to make sense story-wise, but this is all I can offer, for now.
> 
> I wrote this for myself and I hope you enjoyed it too.


End file.
